From the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Mike Tidwell, director
Compiled and edited by Ted Glick, CCAN Policy Director
April 16, 2010

The Chesapeake Climate Action Network has launched a weekly policy update about efforts to advance “cap and dividend” legislation in the U.S. Congress. The fight for this climate policy is currently being led on Capitol Hill by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Last December these Senators introduced the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal Act, or CLEAR Act. Learn more at http://www.supportclearact.org.

Week of April 11-16:  As Congress began returning on Monday from its Easter recess, the Institute for Policy Integrity released a study which reported on the positive economic effects of the CLEAR Act. It addressed, among other issues, the issue of regional disparities, finding them to be relatively minimal under the CLEAR Act. Senators Cantwell and Collins continued to publicly advocate for CLEAR, with Cantwell appearing on the national radio show “Living on Earth.” As Earth Day approaches, an article by Earth Day founder Denis Hayes, among other points made, supported the CLEAR Act. And Darren Samuelsohn in E&E News analyzed what is happening overall with climate legislation in the US Senate, including the perspectives of Senators Cantwell and Collins.

In This Issue:

1. Senators Cantwell and Collins call attention to Institute for Policy Integrity report verifying that CLEAR Act will have positive economic effects
2. Washington Post: “CLEAR Act delivers, study says”
3. Senator Cantwell appears on Living on Earth national radio program
4. Earth Day leader Denis Hayes: “the best climate legislation that has yet been proposed”
5. E&E News reports on status of climate legislation efforts in first week back after Easter recess

#1  Senators Cantwell and Collins call attention to Institute for Policy Integrity report verifying that CLEAR Act will have positive economic effects

In a press release issued on Monday, April 12th, CLEAR Act co-sponsors Senators Maria Cantwell and Susan Collins “said an independent study by the Institute for Policy Integrity at the New York University Law School concluded that their bipartisan cap-and-dividend legislation will drive technological innovations and create clean-energy jobs. The report finds that the CLEAR Act would avoid large regional disparities and provide the greatest support to low-income families.”

To see the full press release and for links to the IPI report go to:

http://cantwell.senate.gov/news/record.cfm?id=323761

#2  Washington Post: “CLEAR Act delivers, study says”

In a blog post on the Washington Post website on April 12th, Michael Livermore, Director of the Institute for Public Integrity, is quoted, in reference to their study, as saying, “”These jobs will offer relatively high wages in industries that are experiencing overcapacity and unemployment. The economic incentives in the CLEAR Act will begin to mop up some of the slack in the market. Presently unemployed construction workers will find more opportunities as green investment kicks in.”

See the full blog post at:

http://views.washingtonpost.com/climate-change/post-carbon/2010/04/clear_act_delivers_study_says.html

#3  Senator Cantwell appears on Living on Earth national radio program

Appearing on Living on Earth, “the weekly environmental news and information program,” carried on approximately 300 radio stations, Senator Cantwell explained a key difference between the CLEAR Act and what Senators Kerry, Graham and Lieberman are working on:

“We’re trying to get a legislative solution that the American people can buy into, that they can see that this is a workable way for us to get off of carbon; and to my more skeptical colleagues, a process that you literally are going to put into legislative statute, that you know how the formula works and how the reductions will be made. So you’re not worried about this changing. The predictability is in the simplicity of the formula. And I think that while there probably will be discussions on how to add the larger energy pieces to this, what we’re really trying to do is unveil a concept and push an idea that is the level of simplicity that is needed to get America’s buyoff. It is a clear and predictable path.”

For a transcript of the full interview go to:

http://www.loe.org/shows/segments.htm?programID=10-P13-00015&segmentID=3

#4  Earth Day leader Denis Hayes: “the best climate legislation that has yet been proposed”

In an article published on Yale Environment 360, Denis Hayes, international chair of Earth Day 2010, called for strong action on climate while supporting the CLEAR Act. Writing about the CLEAR Act he said, “Most experts I know agree, in private, that the Cantwell-Collins bill in the Senate is the best climate legislation that has yet been proposed. In fact, it is the only option under consideration that would make a meaningful dent in greenhouse gas emissions in the near term. It places an absolute cap on carbon where it enters the economy; auctions 100 percent of carbon permits; and returns the revenues to the public on a pro rata basis. Moreover, it’s just 40 pages long, while the competing bills contain another thousand pages of loopholes, special interest exceptions, and bad baggage.”

For the full article go to:

http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2262

#5  E&E News reports on status of climate legislation efforts in first week back after Easter recess

In an article by E&E reporter Darren Samuelsohn, in the context of an overview of what is going on in the Senate, he quotes Senator Cantwell on the Kerry/Graham/Lieberman effort: “’I can’t wait to see a bill from them,’ Cantwell said yesterday, noting that the two legislative approaches are very different in nature. ‘They’re trying to go a lot, the whole gamut,’ she said of Kerry, Graham and Lieberman. ‘We’re just focusing on the right mechanism for changing the direction on carbon and getting on to a plan that helps us before oil goes back up to over $100 a barrel.’”

For the full article go to:

http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2010/04/13/13climatewire-senate-leader-reaffirms-plans-for-climate-bi-34741.html

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CCAN encourages readers of the Cap and Dividend Policy Update to distribute it to others who might be interested. We welcome input on the contents of this publication and ideas for what could be included. Send to Ted Glick at ted@chesapeakeclimate.org. To find out more about CCAN go to http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org.